Holy Cat Scratch Fever!
Every day until 1/12 — the 50th anniversary of Batman’s TV debut — we’re counting down our Top 13 episodes. For more info on our latest Batman ’66 celebration, click here.
And bring on those comments — either here or in whichever social-media thread you found this. We want to hear your thoughts!
In case you missed them:
13. True or False Face/Holy Rat Race (click here!)
12. Green Ice/Deep Freeze (click here!)
11. The Wail of the Siren (click here!)
Now to No. 10 …
That Darn Catwoman/Scat! Darn Catwoman. I don’t know why so many Catwoman episodes riffed on teen culture, but the elements we saw in the Chad and Jeremy episode and the later Catwoman Goes to College, crystallize here, when pop star Lesley Gore signs on as Pussycat, Catwoman’s sidekick.
Right off, Lesley Gore is great: She’s funny and a little brassy but unlike sultry predecessor Eenie (Sharyn Wynters), she bears little physical resemblance to statuesque Julie Newmar. Their Mutt and Jeff pairing makes for a warped distaff mirror image of Batman and Robin, and they have excellent chemistry besides. (I could do without the cringy singing but it was inevitable.)
This is a tandem I would have loved to see again but given the now-you-see-them way that guest stars came and went on the show, it’s unsurprising.
This also may be Burt Ward’s best episode overall. Once Pussycat drugs him, he’s all leering and handsy and creepy and gross and it looks like Ward is having the time of his life, freed from his chastity utility belt.
Oh, and I talked at length about this episode with John S. Drew on The Batcave Podcast, so click here to have a listen.
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Speaking of Robin, check out our ranking of the Boy Wonder’s Top 13 “Holy!” Exclamations, here.
NEXT: No. 9. Holy Brave and the Bold!
January 10, 2017
In my opinion of the BATMAN TV SHOW , this was #2 IN MY TOP 10 LIST
May 2, 2018
I’m really surprised Gore didn’t come back as Pussycat…that was a bummer
January 27, 2023
Pussycat: (explaining to Catwoman about how she’s going to sing for the henchmen) “I bought one of those background music records.”
Sure, every young person at the time had access to vinyl that featured popular songs without the vocals. 😀 You bought them at the local record store, LOL. This is yet another little detail that makes “Batman” a show so silly that it’s fun.
Burt Ward had to have had a blast playing his Mr. Hyde personality in this story.
I remember that when these two episodes used to air on cable TV channels in the 80s and 90s, Gore’s second tune “Maybe Now” always got cut to save room for more commercials. At least they left in “California Nights” (I get that some people find her tunes here cringe-inducing but they’re harmless bubble gum fluff even if they do stop the story dead in its tracks for two minutes). Today, of course, both songs are on the blu-rays, which is nice for kooks like myself who loathe when anything gets trimmed from classic TV.
Have to give kudos to Nelson Riddle for his incidental score in the series, and this episode’s no exception. The moment when Pussycat scratches Robin’s neck with a dose of Cataphrenic has always stood out in my memory because the music heard as it happens is so otherworldly and full of wonder.
Bottom line: fun episode. It gets a Top 20 spot in my book for Robin’s evil side. And also for that infectious tune “California Nights”. I suppose this is a nostalgia thing that goes back to enjoying these rerun shows in the 1970s at my grandmother’s house in summer time.